The filmmakers wanted to make a series about a con artist, but not one that was a cold case, resolved, or well known. They decided on their subject after producer Alex Takats read the blog of a woman who had accused her former husband of fraud.[2] There was an arrest warrant, but his whereabouts were unknown.[2] The filmmakers decided not to be a "fly on the wall", but instead intervene to fund the investigation.[3] The series began filming in December 2017.[4]
Release
The series had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2020.[5][6] It was initially scheduled to premiere on Showtime on May 8, 2020, but this was delayed to August 30, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8][9]
Subject
The series is a "manhunt", following efforts of private detectives hired by the filmmakers, including bounty hunter Carla Campbell, to find a man from Lenexa, Kansas named Richard Scott Smith.[4][3] Smith was accused by multiple women, including some he married, of romance scams. He is accused of being married at least ten times[3] and to more than one woman at a time,[4] and being accused of using multiple identities.[3] His former partners accused him of using their identities to make purchases and obtain credit, leaving them severely in debt.[4][3] He was put on probation in 2015 in Polk County, Iowa after being charged with domestic abuse assault.[10] After one former partner went to the police in 2017, he pleaded guilty to identity theft and received a 10-month jail sentence, later violating probation.[4]
The women each tell their stories of how they met Smith and came to be duped, and the film explores what led Smith to act in these ways.[2] Smith appears on camera in the final episode in "what can most charitably be described as a dumpster fire of an interview", according to the Kansas City Star.[4]
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 92% based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Explosive, but never exploitive, Love Fraud tells a thrilling tale of online dating gone terribly wrong with expert precision and a welcome dose of empathy."[11] On Metacritic, the series holds a rating of 77 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
